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Adding or Removing Apps or Programs

Removing an app from your Start menu doesn't take much effort. Right‐click the app's tile from the Start menu and choose Unpin from Start from the pop‐up menu.

That doesn't remove the app, though. The app lives on in the Start menu's alphabetical list. To permanently remove an app or program from your PC, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start button and choose Settings from the Start menu.
    The Settings app appears.
  2. Click the System icon and then, when the System window appears, click Apps & Features from the window's left pane.
    The Installed Apps & Features window appears, listing your currently installed apps and programs sorted by size.
    Tip:
    To sort the programs by their installation date, click the Sort By Size button and choose By Install Date from the pop‐up menu. You can also view programs installed on certain drives, which comes in handy on small tablets, where you want to store programs on memory cards rather than their main memory.
  3. Click the unloved program and then click its Uninstall or Move button.
    Click a listed program, and two buttons appear below it:
    • Move:
      When you're running out of storage space, choose this option. It lets you move an app or program onto your tablet's memory card, freeing up space for your files.
    • Uninstall:
      Click this button - as well as the confirmation button that follows - to completely remove the app or program from your PC.
    Depending on which button you've clicked, Windows either boots the program off your PC or moves it to another disk drive or memory card.

After you delete a program, it's gone for good unless you kept its installation CD. Unlike other deleted items, deleted programs don't linger inside your Recycle Bin. Mistakenly deleted apps, however, can almost always be relocated and reinstalled from the Windows Store.

Warning:
Always use the Settings app to uninstall unwanted programs. Simply deleting their files or folders doesn't do the trick. In fact, doing so often confuses your computer into sending bothersome error messages.

Installing new programs

Today, most programs install themselves automatically as soon as you choose them from the Windows Store, double‐click their downloaded installation file, or slide their discs into your PC's drive.

If you're not sure whether a program has installed, go to the Start menu and look for its name. If it appears in the All Apps alphabetical list, the program has installed.

But if a program doesn't automatically leap into your computer, here are some tips that can help:

  • You need an Administrator account to install programs. (Most computer owners automatically have an Administrator account.) That keeps the kids, with their Standard, Child, or Guest accounts, from installing programs and messing up the computer.
  • Downloaded a program? Windows saves downloaded files in your Downloads folder. To find the Downloads folder, open any folder and click the word Downloads in the folder's Quick Access area atop its left pane. When the Downloads folder appears, double‐click the downloaded program's name to install it.
  • Many eager, newly installed programs want to add a desktop shortcut, a Start menu tile, and a Quick Launch toolbar shortcut. Say "yes" to all. That way you can start the program from the desktop, avoiding a trip to the Start menu. (Changed your mind? Rightclick any unwanted shortcuts and choose either Delete or Unpin to remove them.)
  • It never hurts to create a restore point before installing a new program. If your newly installed program goes haywire, use System Restore to return your computer to the peaceful state of mind it enjoyed before you installed the troublemaker.